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With: Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo, Holliday Grainger, Patsy Ferran, Anamaria Vartolomei, Cameron Britton, Daniel Henshall, Ellen Robertson, Stephen Park, Tim Key
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Written by: Bong Joon Ho, based on a novel by Edward Ashton
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Directed by: Bong Joon Ho
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MPAA Rating: R for violent content, language throughout, sexual content and drug material
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Running Time: 137
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Date: 03/07/2025
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Stepping Clones
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
Academy-Award winning filmmaker Bong Joon Ho (Parasite) returns with the raucous sci-fi comedy Mickey 17, a high-pitched, high-concept combo of slapstick and social commentary that wildly entertains.
Mickey (Robert Pattinson) and his business partner Timo (Steven Yeun) find themselves in debt to a dangerous gangster. In order to get out of town, and off-world, Mickey unwittingly volunteers to be an "expendable" on a four-year mission to colonize a distant planet. This means that he will perform dangerous tasks, and his body will be "re-printed" when he dies. On the ship he finds his soulmate Nasha (Naomi Ackie) and realizes moments of happiness.
But when Mickey 17 gets into an accident and comes face-to-face with the new planet's crawly, toothy inhabitants (dubbed the "Creepers"), he's presumed dead, and a "Mickey 18" is printed. Chaos ensues as their buffoonish leader (Mark Ruffalo) and his conniving wife (Toni Collette) decide to destroy all the Creepers, as Mickey 17 discovers that they are actually intelligent beings. One wrong move could wipe out everyone.
Mickey 17 fits in nicely with director Bong's previous work, not only a tale of humans' push-pull relationships with monsters (The Host, Okja), but also a tale of how humans have inherent monstrosity within, which comes out in the most innocuous and unexpected ways (as in Mother and Parasite). It even recalls the dystopian sci-fi of Snowpiercer, but much funnier.
Rob Pattinson is the key here, giving a wonderful performance as the various Mickeys. His "17" speaks in a squeaky, big-city accent that recalls Joe Pesci, Steve Buscemi, and Jerry Lewis, while "18" is tougher, like Dean Martin. (Pattinson and himself make a great comedy team.) He's also adept at physical comedy, conjuring laughs with his precise movements and pratfalls.
But the whole cast is pitch perfect. Ruffalo is a scarily familiar, over-the-top villain (who yearns for a "pure race" to occupy the new planet). And Naomi Ackie is the soul of the piece, fully and wholly loving Mickey in spite of everything.
Truthfully, Mickey 17 is a whirlwind and doesn't offer much in the way of rest breaks or casual getting-to-know-you moments, and, at 137 minutes, it lingers, but it still hits dead-on. The 17th Mickey is all about kindness and gratitude, even if it takes him a little while to figure things out. Occasionally, we all need a little time to do that.
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